A unique video recently surfaced showing Ukrainian soldiers using a U.S.-supplied Patriot air defense system to set up an ambush against Russian military planes, according to a Telegram post by a user named Sonyashnik.
Downing a Su-34 is easy, Patriot's struggle is against the Su-35
Photo by Anthony Sweeney
The incident, which took place last year near Ukraine’s frontlines, involved a team that successfully fired on a group of Russian aircraft, including a Su-35S fighter jet and a Su-34 bomber, in an effort to stop Russian-guided bombs from hitting Ukrainian targets.
The footage and the operator’s story, shared on the messaging app, reveal a tense operation where quick thinking and fast moves helped the team take down enemy planes and escape danger. This happened somewhere along Ukraine’s battle lines, where Russian air attacks have been a constant threat, pushing Ukrainian forces to find creative ways to fight back.
Unique video of the combat work of a Ukrainian-operated Patriot air defense system and the story of an air defense ambush on Russian military aircraft from Sonyashnik:
"An order was received to organize an ambush on enemy bombers, yes, this is about last year's time, when we… pic.twitter.com/lR30XvOBvo
— Status-6 (Military & Conflict News) (BlueSky too) (@Archer83Able) March 17, 2025
The story starts with an order that came down to the Ukrainian air defense team. They were told to set up a trap for Russian bombers dropping KABs—guided bombs that have caused big problems for Ukraine’s troops and towns.
The team grabbed their Patriot system, a powerful American-made weapon designed to shoot down planes and missiles, and moved to a spot near the front. They set up fast, spreading out their gear, including the AN/MPQ-65 radar that spots targets in the sky.
It was risky being so close to the fighting without much cover, but they had no choice—they needed to stop those bombs. After just 10 minutes of waiting, their radar picked up a Russian Su-35S fighter jet, known to NATO as “Flanker-E,” flying right toward them.
These soldiers weren’t new to the game. They knew a single Su-35S wouldn’t be alone. Sure enough, the radar soon showed two more planes ahead—likely Su-34 bombers—and two more trailing 30 to 40 miles behind.
The team had picked a perfect spot, almost like they’d lured the Russian jet into a trap. One of the operators later wrote on Telegram, “This fool ran head-on into us,” talking about the Su-35S.
They didn’t waste time. Keeping the radar on too long could give them away or overheat it, so they flipped it on, locked onto the target, and fired two MIM-104 Patriot missiles—one right after the other. The goal was to hit fast and get out before the Russians could strike back.
Things got hectic quick. The Su-35S wasn’t just any plane—it was carrying Kh-31 missiles, weapons made to hunt down and destroy radars like the Patriot’s. If it fired one, the whole setup—launchers included—could be toast. Plus, there was always the chance of a bigger Russian missile, like an Iskander, coming their way if they stuck around.
As soon as the first missile was in the air, heading for the Su-35S, the team got a radio call to “run on wheels,” meaning pack up and move fast. The operator said they had to “make a hole out of there” to save their valuable M902 and M903 launchers, which are tough to replace.
While they scrambled, the action in the sky kept going. The first Patriot missile chased the Su-35S, which tried a trick—diving low to dodge it. That’s a common move pilots use to mess with a missile’s radar and shake it off near the ground. But then a Su-34 bomber popped up from behind, and it became the real prize.
The operator wrote, “That rooster was our target,” using a nickname for the Su-34. The missile didn’t care about the dodge—it caught up, and both planes vanished from the radar screen. The team figured they’d hit them, but they couldn’t stick around to check. They were too busy grabbing their gear and running, with another Russian plane chasing them down the road.
That chase didn’t let up. The operator described how a “wing”—probably another Su-35S—followed them, waiting for them to stop so it could attack. The team kept moving, dodging trouble, until they reached a safe spot where other Ukrainian defenses were waiting.
That cover took care of the pursuer, sending it “to Kobzon,” a Russian slang term for getting knocked out of the fight. In the end, the team made it out with their Patriot system intact and a wild story to tell. “We don’t make extra holes on the uniform,” the operator wrote, meaning they didn’t need medals to know they’d done their job.
This wasn’t just a lucky break—it showed how Ukraine’s been using tools like the Patriot to fight back against Russia’s air force. The U.S. started sending Patriot systems to Ukraine in late 2022 after months of Russian airstrikes hammered cities and bases.
By early 2023, Ukrainian crews were trained up and running them, with the first confirmed kills coming that spring, according to a Pentagon report.
Posts on X from military watchers like @OSINTtechnical cheered the system’s success, noting it’s downed everything from drones to jets. Last year’s ambush fits that pattern, targeting planes dropping KABs—bombs that can glide dozens of miles and hit with pinpoint accuracy.
The Patriot isn’t cheap or simple. Each system costs hundreds of millions, and its missiles run about $4 million a pop, per the Center for Strategic and International Studies. It’s got a big radar that can see targets over 60 miles away and launchers that fire fast to protect wide areas.
In this case, the team used it like a sniper rifle, picking off planes one by one. Defense analyst Michael Kofman, speaking on a War on the Rocks podcast, said Ukraine’s been smart about moving these systems around, keeping Russia guessing. “They’re not just sitting still—they’re hunting,” he noted, explaining why ambushes like this work.
Russia’s side of the story stays quiet. Moscow’s Defense Ministry hasn’t said a word about losing a Su-35S or Su-34 in this fight, though they’ve claimed plenty of Ukrainian drones and missiles shot down in other battles.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters last month that Russia’s air force still rules the skies, brushing off Ukraine’s defenses as overhyped. But losses have piled up—independent trackers like Oryx estimate Russia’s lost over 100 planes since 2022, some to Patriots. The Su-35S, worth about $85 million, and the Su-34, around $50 million, are big hits if they went down here.
The operator’s tale leaves some gaps. They couldn’t prove the kills because they didn’t stay to watch. “It’s hard to show the result when you’re running,” they wrote on Telegram. In military terms, that’s a “kill” without confirmation—no wreckage photos or radar logs to back it up.
Analysts say that’s normal in a fast fight like this, especially when you’re dodging anti-radar missiles like the Kh-31. “You don’t wait around to take selfies with the debris,” said Justin Bronk from the Royal United Services Institute in a recent interview with CNN. Still, the disappearing radar blips strongly suggest both planes were toast.
This kind of ambush isn’t new for Ukraine. Back in May 2023, a Patriot near Kyiv took out five Russian jets in one day, per Ukraine’s Air Force Command. Posts on X from @WarMonitor3 called it a “massacre,” showing how deadly the system can be when it’s set up right.
Last year’s trap was smaller but just as bold, going after bombers that threaten troops on the ground. KABs, or guided aerial bombs, have been a headache since Russia ramped them up in 2023, dropping thousands on Ukraine’s east, according to a Kyiv Post tally. Stopping even one plane can save lives.
The U.S. keeps a close eye on how its gear performs. A Department of Defense official, speaking anonymously to Reuters last week, said Patriot systems in Ukraine have exceeded expectations, knocking down over 50 targets since deployment.
That success has kept the aid flowing—Congress approved another $61 billion package in April 2024, part of which funds more missiles. Russian pilots know the risk—posts on X from @RALee85, a defense writer, say they’ve started flying lower and faster to dodge, just like the Su-35S tried here.
For Ukraine, every win counts. The war’s stretched their resources thin, but stories like this show they’re still punching back. The operator’s last line—“we have a chic one”—is their way of saying they pulled off something big, even if they can’t hang it on a wall.
As Russia keeps up the pressure, these ambushes might just tip the scales, one plane at a time. The video’s out there now, giving the world a front-row seat to how it went down.
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